2014 Marriage rights threshold

[Jim Eshelman]

This morning, at approximately 10:00 AM, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear cases where U.S. Federal appellate courts had overthrown state laws prohibiting marriage between two people of the same sex. In addition to my native Indiana and the socially critical decision in Utah, the states affected were Virginia, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.

I wrote what amounts to an op-ed on the matter on my Facebook page, which, if you happen to be interested, you can read (until it scrolls off as usual): https://www.facebook.com/jeshelman

But now to the astrology...

[Jim Eshelman]

October 6, 2014, 10:00 AM, Washington, DC.

PRECIS
Solar: Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto (Venus, Uranus). Moon-Jupiter-Pluto, Moon Uranus-Pluto, Venus-Mars.
Lunar: Mercury, Uranus (Sun). Moon-Saturn.
Day: Moon, Sun, Venus, Uranus, Moon/Sun, Venus-Uranus (CapQ). Sun, Uranus, Pluto (transits to Capsolar).

Year: Capsolar
We have seen so much - so much that is accurate and amazing - out of this packed Capsolar. It has danced with us on the economy and on matters of war. To get the full impact of how it shows the social and legal trend already in force all year on this issue, and approaching climax with the current court action. Let me break the whole chart down again:
Jupiter (MC 0°02'), Moon (MC 0°50'), Pluto (sq Asc 0°41', IC 2°53')
Mars (EP 1°38', Asc 4°14')
Uranus (Dsc 3°35'), Venus (IC 4°26')

Venus-Mars (sq 0°12' in mundo)
Moon-Jupiter (conj. 0°18')
Uranus-Pluto (sq 0°42' in mundo)
Moon-Pluto (op. 2°03' in mundo)
Jupiter-Pluto (op. 2°28')
Moon-Uranus (sq. 2°45' in mundo)

You can read this primarily from the aspects. Moon-Jupiter is perhaps the most singular aspect for major civil rights turning points, having been active for the opening of the Seneca Falls convention, for the Selma march, the Stonewall riots, and even the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Uranus-Pluto tears down existing iconic structures and shows a revolutionary spirit of dismantling, revising, and remapping established patterns. Of course the lunar aspects to Uranus and Pluto primarily reinforces and strengths these (along with their own distinctive characters - see the summaries at the end of Appendix B in the current edition of SMA). Jupiter-Pluto challenges (or assaults) existing value systems, ideologies, and the political and other power systems that support them. And, of course, Venus-Mars has something or other to do with sex.

Quarter: Cansolar & Arisolar
The Cansolar is dormant. It's Moon-Mercury square really doesn't add anything except, perhaps, the processing of more marriage licenses! (Moon-Mercury seems usually to be about the paperwork <g>.)

The effective chart of the quarter, therefore, is the Arisolar. Probably the most significant thing here is the Moon-Sun opposition across the horizon - something I have interpreted in mundane astrology as "having something to do with marriage," and in fact timing some significant turning points in the marriage rights movement (on both sides of the question). - My current SMA thumbnail interpretation of Moon-Sun in mundane astrology includes the phrase, "Typical events range from fires to significant weddings (or matters that affect the institution of marriage)."

Month: Caplunar
Moon-Saturn sq. (0°40' in mundo)
Mercury (Dsc 1°16'), Uranus (sq MC 1°14')
Sun (Dsc 8°57')

Not particularly descriptive. At most, we have "surprise announcement," since this simple paperwork processing took pretty much everybody by surprise. (They also may have decided what they were going to do when they met last week to start working on their calendar for the year. In that case, the Liblunar brings Uranus square Ascendant, wider angularities by Sun, Venus, and Pluto, and a 0°02' Venus=-Pluto square (in mundo) in the foreground.

Day: Capsolar Quotidian & Transits
CapQ Dsc conj. s. Sun (1°34')
CapQ Asc conj. p. Moon (0°51')
-- Moon/Sun midpoint 0°22' from CapQ horizon
CapQ MC conj. s. Uranus (1°34')
CapQ IC conj. t. Venus (0°59')
-- t. Venus op. s. Uranus (0°35')
This couldn't be much more perfect!
------------------------------------------------------
t. Uranus sq. Capsolar MC (0°21')
t. Sun conj. Capsolar Asc (0°48')
t. Pluto sq. Capsolar Asc (1°24')

Day: Cansolar Quotidian & Transits
CanQ IC conj. t. Neptune (0°20')
t. Venus op. CanQ Moon (0°51')


SUMMARY
Year (Capsolar): Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Pluto (Venus, Uranus). Moon-Jupiter-Pluto, Moon Uranus-Pluto, Venus-Mars.
Quarter (Cansolar): (Dormant.) Moon-Mercury.
Quarter (Arisolar by flow-through): Sun (Moon, Mars). Moon-Sun.
Month (Caplunar): Mercury, Uranus (Sun). Moon-Saturn.
Day (Capsolar): Moon, Sun, Venus, Uranus, Moon/Sun, Venus-Uranus (CapQ). Sun, Uranus, Pluto (transits to Capsolar).
Day (CanQ): Neptune. Moon-Venus.

[Jim Eshelman]

Jim wrote:

We have seen so much - so much that is accurate and amazing - out of this packed Capsolar.

The most diverse aspected and planetary angular Capsolar in the history of this Country, imo.

[Jim Eshelman]

(I decided to post my informal op-ed on this topic. One, I like it, and it will disappear from FB soon. Two, it has some data relevant to this ongoing process.)


A day of great social justice and victory for human dignity... and with the promise of a greater day still ahead. My native Indiana (along with Utah, Virginia, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin) joined those states where men and women have equal right to marry the person they choose regardless of whether it is a woman or a man.

I've seen criticism of the U.S. Supreme Court's approach to this - regrets that they simply denied appeals (and let Federal court decisions stay) rather than issue their own clarifying decision. I disagree with the criticism - I think the Court's approach is quite ingenious and quite promising.

The Court's priority (already stated by them) is not to issue a top-down edict that forces one of the vastest social changes in the Western world's history. They know the inevitability (some with pleasure, some with displeasure) that full marriage rights are right around the corner, and they know that a slower "bottom up" decision will be a more stable, accepted outcome. The major briefs in Perry etc. all spoke of this and the White House had requested certain things that would have the effect of avoiding a sweeping instant mandate.

Scalia already has stated, in a dissent last year, that the Court's decision in Perry was bad in his opinion because (I simplify) no state statute could stand before it. Scalia, for all else I might say about him, is smart and has integrity. I fully expect him, if the whole matter comes before SCOTUS, to vote for overthrowing state restrictions - because he's already said that the Court's standing decisions require it. He'll do it in a snarky dissent, but he'll do it.

So where does that leave us? I believe that any state currently restricting marriage rights on the basis of gender will see that restriction fall. If there is currently a pending decision awaiting Federal appellate review (as in Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Florida, and Kentucky), most likely the appeals court will toss out the law and - as they've already shown - SCOTUS will deny any further steps.

The Supreme Court is saying, "We gave you a decision last year, the Federal appeals courts have been applying it correctly, there's nothing further for us to waste time on. And we don't want a single top-down mandate that cuts through everything, and there are people on this Court that don't want their names on a decision to legalize gay marriage nationwide forever. So just keep doing what you're doing."

This leaves the possibility that some Federal appeals courts might - just might - go the other way. They might support the state laws. I doubt it (or, in any case, it is even less likely after this morning.) But, if they do, I bet SCOTUS does no more than remand the case for redecision applying Perry. No new decision, no new signatures by justices on the bottom line.

Finally, that leaves a few states with constitutional bans against same sex marriage. I think that probably won't be budging unless and until somebody gets cases filed and decisions get handed down. So, if you are planning on marrying someone the same sex as you, don't plan that wedding in the near future for North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, or Alaska.

Oh, and here's the fun part: I'm betting that North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Georgia, South Carolina, Ohio, and Alaska, by their own actions, are about to become flooded with gay marriage advocates. These seven states (yeah, only 7 aren't already in the stream) necessarily will become the new national centers of gay activism. (Hint: Take your own wine. Don't drink the Muscatine.)

[Jim Eshelman]

The lead case in this is Bogan, so that's probably how the event will be identified.